Therapies we offer
Articulation: Forming clear, distinct speech sounds. Though some articulation errors are developmental in nature and resolve on their own, others require skilled intervention. Children are taught where to put their lips, teeth, and tongue and how to control their airstream for the productions of distinct sounds and blends.
Fluency: Speaking and reading fluidly and easily. Children with dysfluencies (stuttering events) may repeat syllables or words, have lengthy pauses, and/or display physical actions (i.e. foot tapping, averting eye contact, tense muscles) while trying to speak. Speech therapy teaches fluency-shaping strategies and provides environmental modifications to promote easy, fluent speech.
Phonological Awareness: Working with sounds in spoken language for phonics, rhyming, blending, and eventually decoding. Phonological awareness is an imperative skill for reading, and many children with speech disorders need extra help in this area.
All ECSLS speech pathologists are required to take advanced coursework in reading and literacy because sound production, letter recognition, and phonological awareness all go together hand-in-hand as children learn to read.
Receptive Language: comprehending words that are heard or read. Receptive language skills are critical for communication and include:
- following directions (i.e. jump to the red square, give me a piece of pepperoni pizza)
- understanding conversation
- answering different types of questions
- comprehending text
Children learn simple vocabulary first, then learn to understand more complex ideas as they grow and develop. Eventually, children need to be able to follow multiple step directions, understand concepts and prepositions, determine varying intents of a communication partner, answer all types of yes/no and "WH" questions, and comprehend text of increased length.
Some children are good at decoding (putting sounds together to form words from written text), but without an intact receptive language system, they still do not understand what they read. Imagine reading a newspaper in unfamiliar language. You may be able to sound out the words, but would not understand what the text was saying.
Too many children struggle with reading comprehension due to underlying receptive language deficits. Sometimes, these delays do not become apparent until a child reaches third or fourth grade when text difficulty increases significantly. Chall's Stages of Reading Development describe this transition as "reading to learn" instead of "learning to read".
ECSLS offers language services for children in all grade levels to reduce the impact a receptive language disorder can have on reading comprehension, and ultimately, overall academic success.
Expressive language: how thoughts and ideas are expressed through words to meet wants and needs, such as:
- gaining attention
- labeling
- greeting others
- making requests
- commenting
- protesting
- relaying information
- asking and answering questions
- giving directions
- narrating stories
- engaging in meaningful conversation
Expressive language can take many forms, including gestures or signs, spoken words and sentences, or alternative communication measures including picture exchanges or speech-generating devices.
Expressive language development is a unique process for each child, and continues to develop into adolescence and throughout adulthood. Verbal speech alone may not be a sufficient or effective for some children, particularly in early years. This does not mean they do not have ideas to communicate, they simply need a functional system in place. Communication breakdowns occur when a child cannot express their thoughts to a communication partner, and can be incredibly frustrating.
As children grow, development in vocabulary, grammatical structures, sentence formulation, social language rules, and sequencing become increasingly important.
How Do I Get Started?
The ECSLS Evaluation and Therapy Model provides a step-by-step guide!
THE ECSLS EVALUATION AND THERAPY MODEL
1. Intake Evaluation
An SLP meets with your child and administers an in-depth, comprehensive assessment of speech and language skills.
The SLP shares evaluation results and works with your family to create individualized goals, treatment approaches, and a therapy schedule.
2. Therapy Plan
An in-depth preference assessment helps the SLP create a therapy profile specially designed for your child containing exciting and motivating materials and activities.
Unlimited homework pages and carry-over activities are included in your therapy plan. Our answering service is available 7 days a week to answer any questions you have between sessions.
3. Progress Monitoring
The SLP collects data across therapy sessions to determine progress in all goal areas.
Materials in your child's therapy profile are exchanged regularly to keep sessions engaging and fun.
4. Revision or Discharge
Based on progress data, goals are either increased in difficulty or child is discharged from services based on skill mastery.
Revisions occur often and always involve parental input. With concierge therapy, you don't need to wait for an IEP to expire to modify goals and objectives.
Consulting
Don't need weekly therapy services? Consulting services are also available. You choose the topic and format. Some examples include:
-Vocabulary review for homework assignments, tests, or entrance exams
-Caregiver training in early sign language and communication temptations
-Development of communication boards or programming communication devices